transformers2005fandomcom-20200215-history
Something Rotten
The Tarn Police Department has clearly scrambled to clean the place up to look presentable. The police chief is still barking at mechs to get their afts in gear, as he can be heard down one of the corridors threatening rations if anyone so much as flickers at optic. "Line up, line UP! GO!" snaps the chief, pointing and walking along the length of a wall as officers hurriedly do as they're told. The chief turns abruptly to face their guests, clasping his hands. "So the military has decided to grace us with their presence!" he smiles, though nothing about the gesture is genuine. "I admit, I was a little perturbed to hear that our own faction was doubting our abilities here," he continues with a sad tone. "But what do we know, hm? We've only been keeping the citizens in line whilst you military mechs zoom about the universe, /enriching/ our reputation." The chief is not happy. It doesn't look like the officers are either. They stand at attention, most of them glaring from the corners of their optics or visors. War mechs, poking their noses into things they ought not to. Some are still switching on their badges - merely light projections shaped like the TPD insignia. Only one mech isn't outwardly scowling. Halligan joins up with Defcon and Roadbuster "Greetings gentlemen. I was asked to come and assist you with this. Someone thought my knowledge of police procedures could be helpful in this assignment. It is however your assignment so I will follow your lead." Swoop is here. Why is a Swoop here? Because...well, Tarn seemed important. When things are important and the Autobots really want them to go right? Then they send in the Dinobots. Of course, no one /asked/ the Dinobots for help, but it's implied, right? I mean...why wouldn't they want the Dinobots to help? It's important! Hence...Swoop. The Chief's little 'pep talk' is heard, and draws his attention as he walks over to investigate. Nothing said, nothing done...simply watching. If someone can miss the giant mech in the corner... Roadbuster was mainly here to look big and if need intimidating. Fortunately those were things he could do very well without having to talk too much. Unless a topic he actually has relevant insight for comes up. So right now he's mainly just staring back at the officers. He's not even glaring in return, because that would imply he's bothered by their dirty looks, which he isn't. A figure steps into the Police HQ, pausing in his normal fashion to allow himself to be silhouetted by the light of the doorframe. After a moment, he steps forward into the room. Defcon. Bounty Hunter. A law officer in his own right of sorts. By the look on his face, he isn't happy to be here. Especially with company. He's not in his comfort zone, and he makes a point to let Prowl know how he feels back when they're out of Tarn. He looks at Halligan, but doesn't say anything. Then he looks at Swoop, and frowns. He crosses his arms over his chest, looks at the chief. Doesn't say anything. Finally, he inclines his head to him. "...Officers. The military branch will be inspecting us as they occupy Tarn, and they haven't given me their departure date, so I expect the usual from each of you. Poise. Class. Perfection." The chief pauses and looks to Defcon. "Contrary to what you may have heard, we don't bend the law around here. Investigate what you will. Search rooms, ask questions. We have nothing to hide. You can peruse the reports as well." He regards Halligan briefly, optic ridge quirked. "A SWAT officer, hm? And they have you on the front-lines?" The officers continue to stare. The other three Autobots are certainly intimidating. "That's the bounty hunter," one asides quietly to his comrade, who replies with a "tch". Halligan nods at the police chief "When it is necessary yes I go to the front-lines." He looks at the gathered officers and smiles "Solid bunch you have there chief. I understand how you feel about having someone checking into your business but it brings us back to the old saying: Who watches the watchers? Think of it as a health check." He tries to sound as friendly and non-threatning as possible in order to assure maximum cooperation. Swoop looks at Defcon and scratches his head in response to the frown... Why would someone other than a Con frown at Swoop? The Dinobot just shrugs shortly after and looks over at Roadbuster. It's not often he can look someone optic-to-optic, and he offers a polite nod and mildly enthused wave. But, the Chief's remarks catch his attention fully once they register. "Them being inspected?" He looks critically at the Chief, then the others in the room... one at a time, carefully, scrutinizingly... and finally settles on the one that mentioned a 'bounty hunter' and his companion. Finally, there's a grunt and nod. "Them look like them not broken." Defcon frowns again. Permission. He looks angrier then when he entered. This is all very 'by the book' and following the rules and GAWD Defcon hates doing things the 'right way'. He doesn't like everyone standing at rigid attention. He didn't like them standing around waiting for them to arrive. It's all very proper and formal. Peruse reports? Ask questions? No bending of laws? He makes another mental note to punch Prowl in the face later. But then Halligan speaks up. "You know how these places work? Great. Have at thee." Defcon walks very nonchalantly over to a desk, looks at some datapads. Moves them around. Pretends he's looking at them. Hasn't got a clue what reports should look like. Which probably explains the pile back in his office in his Inbox that would be collecting dust except someone keeps piling more reports onto the pile and not giving the dust time to collect. Halligan he looks at the chief "How often do random checkpoints yield result? At this point and time are they still useful in seizing weapons and contraband or they act more as a disuasive effect?" "Not looking for things 'broken' on the outside," Roadbuster rumbles in response to Swoop. Helps that the Dinobot is at his level so he doesn't have to speak up too loudly to do so. He can sympathize with how out of the element Defcon feels, but orders are orders. Halligan on the other hand is well in his element, so that should help. "Enough standing around," the large wrecker finally rumbles out loud. "Can't see what you're doing right or wrong if you just stand there." Arcee enters the officers meeting quietly...this isn't really her line of work, but she's seen what policework in Tarn has been like in the past when she worked in Intel, so she wants to find out how the situation is about to change for those who work in law enforcement. She smiles when she spots Roadbuster in the meeting already, so she takes a place over by him. One mech in particular looks like there's something on the tip of his tongue. He eagerly tries to catch a gaze, but instead gets a sharp look from the silvery jet officer who shakes his head, ever so slightly. The eager mech sheepishly shrinks back against the wall. The chief watches Defcon closely, optics narrowing. "For a while we saw less and less contraband. As of late, however, there's been a spike. I can think of a number of things to blame..." And that's all the help the chief is going to be, without more prodding. "This gunhappy behemoth is right. We're not going to stand around all day for your investigations, it'll be up to you lot to gather them up. We have work to do, see. They know enough to listen to your basic commands," huffs the chief, then, to the officers, "As you were." The officers break, and they're suddenly in a hurry to depart, some to their barracks, some for the exit. Arcee hmps. "Well, looks like I shouldn't have taken my sweet time getting here after all," she quips, watching as the officers begin leaving. Swoop watches the ones that are in a hurry to depart curiously before looking back at the others in the area. "Them must be good ones. Like doing good work to watch streets... not hide in office and look busy with stupid reports." And that, ladies and gentlemechs, is Dinobot Logic 101. Doers are the best. Talkers are boring. Or lazy. Or not as good... Or, he might just be thinking on a whole different level that eludes others due to their underestimation of the Dinobot's mental capacity. Probably not, though. Halligan's optics narrow a bit "Spike in contraband? What kind? Also you can think of a number of reasons behind the rise. Care to give me a few leads? If you know what to look for we might be able to stop things before they arrive in Tarn." It may be simple and somewhat abstract logic, but Swoop might not be far off Roadbuster considers as officers go back to work. Watch them for a few moments, you might be able to tell which ones are willing to make an effort and which ones are just enlisted for their own reasons. The questions about contraband draws his attention to the actual conversations. "Any weapons? Or just more of those dumb masks?" Not once did he deny the 'gunhappy behemoth' remarks. But at least he's got composure. GAWD more Bots. Defcon just wanders off. Finds a random office. Sits down in the chair, throwing his large boots up onto the desk. He looks exasperated. He opens one of the desk drawers. Looks inside. No liquor. Open another. Looks inside. More disappointment. He gets a message from Halligan. UGH. Which one is the eager one? He kicks the desk with one boot, the chair sliding across the floor over towards the doorway. He sticks head out. Frowns. "HEY. You there." Is that the eager one? None of them look very eager. Maybe Defcon is just pretending to be bored or frustrated to throw the cops off their game. "C'mere. I need someone to get me something very important." A pause. "Go get me a smoke." He may in fact be the Greatest Actor EVAR. Or perhaps it's become clear why he has no rank. Swoop is doing much like Roadbuster. But, to be fair, rather than outright ask? He starts reading signs and door tags to look for the most likely place this 'contraband' is stored at. "Them have masks? Swoop want see masks..." He breaks off the main group, venturing around the department like a kid at a toy store with a one-track mind, looking over the various rooms with a critical eye as he searches out these 'masks'. The chief is already heading down the corridor - Halligan will have to follow him if he wants an answer. "You're assuming we're not doing everything in our power to prevent that? You're assuming we haven't thought enough to follow the leads?" he snaps irritably. Roadbuster's additional questions get him to stop and reply, albeit reluctantly. "Mostly explosives. Homemade weaponry. Smoke bombs, flashbangs... The sort of stuff /we/ use to break up riots. Aren't they clever." Roadbuster may notice a few of the officers arguing with one another near the barracks entrance, but they quiet up when they spot him watching. The eager mech, an officer with blue armor, perks up immediately and goes to find Defcon a smoke. When he returns with it, the silver mech from earlier yanks it from him. "I'll take it from here Fray, beat it. Can I help you, outlaw?" he sneers through Defcon's doorway. Arcee frowns to herself at the overall mood in the place. It doesn't much surprise her because the force is fairly clandestine as it is, and the Autobots probably just seem to them like more outside political influences to stir up the citizens and not really act as a force for positive change. Fray in particular catches her interest. Swoop is still looking for contraband! Masks, specifically, if anyone goes off his last little remark. Spying the Chief and Halligan, he opts to tag along, since they're the ones talking about the stuff, the Dinobot's optics reading over each and every little bit of signage he can find along the way. "Where Swoop find them Contra Masks?" His optics flicker. As long as no one has him go up the hall, up the stairs, down a hall, down more stairs, left, right, left right, back...well, you get the idea. Halligan follows the chief "I do not doubt you are doing your best. However the situation does not seem to get any better." He makes a mental note about the stuff seized and keys his communicator and subvocalizes. << Roadbuster, got a job for you. The chief mentioned explosives, homemade weaponry, smoke bombs and flashbangs have been seized. Can you go to the evidence locker and validate if those grenades are 'police issued'? I want to know if there are dirty elements smuggling weapons out of police HQs. >> "Any of those leads pointing to a common supplier? Common name or person of interest?" There's a quick switch in Defcon's persona, a flash of blue light, and a massive magnum is suddenly pressing its barrel against the old silver mech's chin. Defcon is still sitting in his chair, but he doesn't look bored anymore. He looks completely different. Perhaps it was all an act. "Did you just touch my smoke?" Perhaps not. But at least he's serious about things now. "I once trekked six miles through quasi-primordial jungle to get a smoke back from a laser-crested howler monkoid just because the little bastard stole one from me. I once demolitioned an entire Decepticon outpost because they thought it'd be funny to try and grab one out of my mouth." He eyes the smoke. "I don't want that one." He looks back at the blue mech. "Go get me another one. And if someone other than /Fray/ comes back with it," he looks back at the silver cop, slowly. Dramatically. Narrows his optics. Then.. He squirts him with water. From the gun. In the face. "Bang bang." Roadbuster grunts softly. "Mimicry makes it hard to trace." He leaves the rest of the questioning to Halligan. Partially because his attention is taken by another going-on to the side. If people think because he doesn't talk much that he's not paying attention, they're not paying much attention to him either. Roadbuster walks over towards the barracks, then stops to just stand over the arguing mechs, folding his arms in front of his built-like-a-brickwall-but-metal chestplate. "Problem, gentlemechs?", he asks in a voice that might actually be more formidable because he doesn't actually raise his tone any. Combat: Defcon compares his Courage to 75: Success! Combat: Defcon compares his Courage to 75: Success! Combat: Defcon compares his Courage to 75: Success! The chief eyes Swoop warily. "The Megatron masks? A few are in the evidence locker." But by what he knows of Dinobots, he's not so sure he wants Swoop in there, and looks to Arcee as if she were his handler. "Please only handle what you need to." Back to Halligan, "Flaxjax is a big name, currently. You've probably heard that little rebel over the frequencies, Ignition. Look... if you truly want to help with the crime here instead of investigating us, fine. We have patrols in the alleyways, and on the rooftops. Go with them if you want to root these idiots out." Roadbuster's tone earns him varying looks. These officers aren't quite used to being intimidated by war mechs. These streets belong to /them/, but Roadbuster kills 'cons for a living. "No problem..." And they all try to squeeze around him. The silver mech, Sterling, glares down at the magnum forcing his head up. His hand curls around nothing as it awaits his rifle from subspace, but the summoning stops when Defcon continues his threat. By the end of it, the silver mech is tense, so when water splashes his face, he jerks a little too much. "Fine," he growls. When Fray is shoved into the room, he slumps into the chair, suddenly not so eager. He can't even look at Defcon and instead stares at his feet as he offers the smoke. Swoop has a handler?! Well, that would be news to him. He immediately zeroes in on the 'evidence locker' and makes his way for it. Give the mech some credit, he's not Grimlock! And...well, the door stays on its hinges. So that's a bonus... Whether Arcee follows him or not is entirely up to her, but once in? He's looking for the masks by going through every. single. bin. Open...check...check again...close. Open...check... Yeah. At least nothing is getting tossed about. But it does give him a nice look at what all might be stowed away in there. Arcee knows Swoop is a big mech, he doesn't need her to 'tend' to him. Now Defcon, on the other hand... "Chief, it's probably the case that the Decepticons are furnishing the insurgents with most, if not all, of the explosive contraband," she notes. "We're certainly not here to impede progress in ongoing investigations, but the Decepticons visit their constituents with enough frequency to keep these items coming in. Which is probably one reason why many of the officers are overwhelmed with the amounts being confiscated," Arcee notes. Halligan nods at the chief "In due time we will. As for investigating you. There have been lots of complaints and we wanted to see if some officers might be using excessive force on occasion. Rumors of disappearances even. People snatched by the police for just speaking apparently and never seen again. I know this might not be easy to hear but you must put yourself in the shoes of an outside observer. It does not sound good, might not be true but if it was...you would want to know. first hand." Defcon takes the smoke, putting it in his mouth, then kicks the door closed with one of his boots. Then kicks the door frame and slides back over to the desk. He sits at the desk like he owns it. Adjusts a datapad. Moves the LED lamp a tad. He starts patting himself down like he's looking for a lighter when suddenly he looks up at Fray. "Oh, you're still here." Defcon doesn't recall telling the blue mech to sit but what the hey. He'll roll with it. "So what's your story, kid?" He asks, leaning back in the chair. He checks one of the drawers again. Still no liquor. "Tarn seems a pretty tough place to be a cop in. Mind if I ask why you joined the force?" Roadbuster lowers his arms from his chest, if only to hold them down to keep the smaller mechs from just walking around him easily. Though he's at least trying to not be too forceful about it, because that would not really help their case any. At least he realizes that... Which is probably one of the reasons he was sent instead of some of his more.. rowdy teammates. "Look, I know ya guys don't like the idea of us bein' here. Feels like we're lookin' over your shoulders." Look, he -can- say more than three words at a time. "But there's somethin' rottin' goin' down in Tarn, and if the Decepticons are gettin' directly involved, ya might need some help cuttin' off those slimy fingers tryin' to dig into things. They ain't the street punks and lowlife greasepits yer use to dealin' with." Dammit, wish he had an energon cigar to chomp on for effect. "If this city is gonna get cleaned up once and fer all, it's gonna take some workin' together." The chief looks over Arcee, rubbing his jaw. "Well we definitely have Decepticons getting in. There's an underground network we're trying to pin down." Swoop finds a great deal of disabled explosives. Some are clearly Decepticon in make, rather high tech. Others, not so much. Some are made up of junked parts, packed with shrapnel or rivets. As Halligan predicted, a few sport TPD markings. It might not have been a secret, but the chief certainly wasn't going to bring it up. He's steadily growing more and more angry as Halligan speaks. "Rumors, swatbot, created by the damned rebels!" Beat. "Of /course/ I'd want to know but... These are my mechs, and I know they're clean." He pauses to compose himself. "That's... Why you're free to look wherever you want. If you'll all excuse me, I have work to do." With this, he heads out onto the streets, flanked by two officers. "Mech," begins one of Roadbuster's interrogatees, looking anxious. "It's not that we don't want the help..." They're pretty nervous now, looking /around/ Roadbuster. There's a lot of exchanging glances between passing officers. A lot of head shakes. Seems Roadbuster won't get much more out of them tonight. Defcon on the other hand... Well, not much luck there either. Fray's shoulder's slump. "Tarn is rough," he says simply, then stands suddenly. "I uh. I just wanted to get you your smoke." But before he backs towards the door, he slides Defcon a small dataslug. "Good luck with your investigation!" Swoop narrows his optics... By the time he undoubtedly finds the masks, he only pulls one out for the sake of saying he's found them. Giving the room a quick once-over, he sidles over towards the logbooks for the locker itself and starts to casually peruse them, looking at the names of mechs checking things in, or out, while partnering up the recorded locker locations with the ones he saw. See? He's got /some/ intelligence there. Even if it doesn't show up when he's talking. << Swoop think strange. Swoop see lots of things here that can help, but them leave here and not use to fight them Decepticons? Is stupid. >> Combat: Swoop compares his Intelligence to 65: Failure :( Combat: Swoop compares his Intelligence to 65: Success! Combat: Swoop compares his Intelligence to 65: Success! Fray> Arcee watches the police chief head out, and she glances over toward Roadbuster with a frown. "Well, that...probably could have gone a little bit better," she admits. "But it's a starting point." She looks over toward the evidence room, but doesn't feel the need to 'check' on Swoop, cause she's no Dino-nanny. Besides, Swoop knows how to act. Defcon smoothly grabs Fray's hand as he slips him the dataslug. "I'll make it look good, kid." He says softly. "But it might hurt if you don't duck." He lets go of his hand, leaning back in the chair, and does nothing. He lets Fray open the door and walk outside the office. Followed by a very loud crash as a chair flies out of the office, over Fray's head, slamming into the ground past him. "Useless!" Defcon shouts from inside the office, sounding angry and frustrated. "Go find me someone who can give me a shred of useful information!" He hopes the right eyes are watching, for Fray's sake. Inside the office, Defcon stands by the desk. Hmm. Probably should have thrown the other, less comfortable looking chair. He pockes the dataslug, making a mental note to check it out later. Preferably before the other note, about punching Prowl in his face. His ugly, ugly face. He looks down at the drawer. "Well, third time's a charm." He opens the drawer again. Combat: Defcon compares his Luck to 80: Failure :( Still empty. He walks out of the office, closing the door behind him. If he had a visible face Roadbuster would probably be frowning a bit. The edginess in the officers doesn't get past him, he's seen the same in soldiers before. Ones that aren't sure of what they're doing ... or trying to hide something. Unfortunately there's no way to press that matter farther, at least not at the moment. They're hear to investigate, after all. Not.. well... Wreckers have their reputation for a reason. It's often a blessing and a curse. At the same time. After the moment of pondering he merely nods his head to the mechs. "Keep doing your job," is rumbled in reply as he steps out of their way. "Remember that this city and it's occupants are counting on you. If you see anything out of standard, be sure to let us know as well, so we can get to the bottom of this matter properly." Sometimes a gentle encouragement is better than a heavy fist. Hopefully this is one of those times that will pay off down the road.... Halligan watches the chief walk out and keys his comm << Enough for tonight. We have a few pieces of interesting information. We need to compare notes in order to figure out our next move. >> He heads to the lobby in order to find his comrades before leaving. Arcee watches as a chair flies out from one of the nearby offices. "Really? ...REALLY??" she asks no one in particular, just hiding her face in the palm of her hand for an embarrassed moment. "Thank Primus the chief's already gone. Like he needs to see this." Fray only catches on to what Defcon is doing at the very last nano, and manages to duck the chair. But he certainly sells it, as he's legitimately surprised, and quickly runs off. Sterling is against the wall, arms crossed, watching, but it seems Fray hadn't been of any use. Good. Roadbuster's officers graciously move away, but his words linger with them. One pauses, parts her lips to speak, but changes her mind and presses on, avoiding Roadbuster's visor. Roadbuster is completely unphased by the chair smashing into a wall from the office. He's surprised it didn't happen sooner. He just watchs the officers leave quietly, then turns back to the others. "Didn't find anything here." At least not in the sense of physical evidence. Defcon adjusts his helmet, pushing it down over his brow, as though adjusting a hat. "I got nothin'." He says to Roadbuster. Whether he has any plans to tell anyone of what he's got in his pocket is another matter all together. After all, he's an Intel Operative and these mechs are all military. He pats himself down again, looking for a lighter, the smoke still loose in his mouth, then glances around. Where's that Dinobot, he's got a flamethrower doesn't he? They all do, right? Close enough. Swoop has his mask! And...a few things to process. He absently wanders out of the station without saying much of anything to anyone Halligan nods at his collegues "I managed to get a name at least. We got some info from the evidence locker. Defcon has a new friend. Not a bad night." He heads out of the police station and back to Iacon. Roadbuster tosses a lighter to Defcon. "Don't blow anything up." He tromps out after the others. "Yet."